Embassy News

Nicosia, Mar 4 (CNA) -- The Cyprus Police have expressed regret over references for the Force in the 2004 US State Department report on human rights in Cyprus.

''The report is biased and written in a way that leads the reader to false conclusions'', a police press release says.

As regards the Cyprus police the State Department report notes that a person in police custody died at a Limassol police station and ''authorities reportedly determined that the death was a suicide. Police conducted a disciplinary investigation and found the officers on duty guilty of neglect of duty''.

It also refers to cases of police abuse in which officers were only convicted of common assault and were fined and kept their jobs.

''We are really surprised with these conclusions and we are justified if we wonder if the two NY police officers, who with no reason have murdered the Cypriot doctor Kakouras, have lost their jobs, taking into consideration that they did not commit common assault but murder''.

The police press release further notes the effort of the report to compliment the island's northern illegal regime and its so-called police ''which, as it is widely known, daily violates human rights''.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37 per cent of its territory.